Controller for electric vehicles.



3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

Patented Apr. '2, :902.

H. H, BUTLER.

BEST AVAILABLE COP:

(Application filed Aug. 24, 1 899.)

$ Im/e are r.-

IKE NGRRIS PEYERS CO PHOYDLYTNO, WGHWZYCM D C.

. CONTROLLER For? ELECTRIC VEHICLES.

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(NoJlodeL) 7 BEST AVAlLABLE com 1 ...1'-UNITED- STATES IIENRY HpCUTLEB,

' PATENT OFFICE.

F CHICAGO, ILLINJ-OIS.

CIQ'NFTROJLLERIFOR ELECTRICVEHICLES.

' SPECIFICATION-forming part of- Letters l ateht No. 697,987, dated April 22, 1902.

' Application filed August 24,1899. Seria1No.72 8.26 6. (No model.)

' To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, HENRY H. CUTLER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ohicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in'Controllers for Electric Vehicles, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description, reference be ing hadto the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

My invention relates to a controller for electric vehicles,-my object being to provide effective means for directing the current through the'motor or motors employed for r 5 operating the vehicle.

e In accordance with-thepresent invention I provide apluralityof solenoids or magnets for controlling-the circuits through the several elementsof the power-supply as, for instance,

the fields and armatures of the electric motors used for driving the vehicle.

troller-roller-or other form of switching mechanism the contacts of which directly control 2 5 the circuit through the several elements. As

these contacts are often required to carry on rtents of considerable volume, excessive arcing takes place at the contacts of the controller-roller, thereby decreasing the eifective- 3o ness of the operation of the roller or necessitating the employment of a very large controller-roller in order to provide sufliciently largecontacts. In accordance with my invention Iarrange the controller-roller or other 5 switching mechanism to control the circuits through the solenoids, and the solenoids control thecircuits through the elements of the powersupply. In this manner the contacts which carry the heavy operating-currents are 0 controlled by the solenoids, and as the solenoids can be placed beneath the car or in any other convenient place the contacts may be made of suflicient sizeto carry the necessary large currents employed.

While I have illustrated my invention in connection with a' controller for electric vehicles such as are usually employed in streetrailwaysystems, it is obvious that myinvention maybe applied to otherforms of vehicles,

as elevators, cranes, and the like, and that it can be employed generally for the control of electric motors used for supplying power to It has been the usual practice heretofore to provide acon-j any desired mechanism.

that my invention is not limited to the control of circuits through the fields and armatures of electric motors, but is equally applicable to the control of circuits through the several elements of any source of power-supply.

I have illustrated my invention in the'accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is adiagram illustrating the circuit connections of a controller for an elecinvention. Fig. 2 is a plan view of .the operating mechanism of the con troller-roller. Fig. 3 is a viewthereof in elevation, partially in section; Fig. 4 is a diagram illustrating a view of a modified form of controller-roller. Fig. 6 is a view thereof in elevation. Fig. 7 is a view illustrating the circuits upon several vehicles connected together to form a train.

Like letters refer to like parts 'in the several figures.

Referring to Fig. 1, I have illustrated a pair of eleotricniotors theelements of which are adapted to be connected in series and in parallel relation to secure the varying speeds at which the vehicle is to be driven.

While I have employed throughout the drawings a series-parallel system for the purpose of illustrating my invent-ion, it will be understood that the invention is equally applicable to any other method of employing the electric motor or motors.

The controller-rollers t and i are provided, respectively, at the front and rear of the vehicle, and each comprises a plate of metal or other conducting material wrapped about a suitable support to form a roller, and in Fig. 1 the plates are illustrated as developed or rolled out into a plane for better illustration. lhe rollers. are provided upon the surfaces with raised'portions at intervals to constitute the contact-surfaces, these portions being indicated by the shaded parts of the rollers shown in the drawings. Brushes a to g, inelusive, are connected, respectively,with the ends of the solenoids A to G, respectively, the several solenoids being provided with main windings A to G, respectively, and auxiliary the main winding being connected with the trolley-wire, as is also the end of the auxiliary modification of my invention. Fig. 5 is aplan' It will also appear i 'tric vehicle equipped in accordance with my windings A to G respectively, one end of winding.

The cores A to G respectively, of the solenoids each carry at the lower end a contact-plate ainormally bridging together contacts a a, thereby short-circuiting the auxiliary winding of the solenoids. When the solenoid is energized and the core is raised, the contact-platen is moved out of engagement with the contacts a a, and the short circuit around the auxiliary winding is thus opened, therebyincluding the auxiliary winding in circuit with the main winding of the solenoid. A brush a is provided in connection with each of the controller-rollers,which is connected by means of a conductor with the rail or return circuit of the system. The starting resistance n of the motors is connected atone end to the trolley-conductor and with a conductor 1, which'extends to the contact 1*, provided in connection with solenoid A. Thefopposite endof resistance n is connected by conductor 2 withcontact 2 of solenoid A and contact 2 of solenoid O. The fieldwindingp' of one of the motors is connected at one'e'ndto the starting resistance and at the ,other end to a conductor 3, which extends to contact 3? of solenoid B and contact 3 of solenoid C. i Field-winding m of the other motor is,

' connected at one end with conductor 4,which extends to contact? of solenoid B andcontact 4" ofsolenoid C,while the opposite end of said winding is connected by conductor 5 with contact 5 of solenoid C, contact 5 of solenoid F,

tends to contact 9 of solenoid E, contact 9 v of solenoid F, and contact 9 of solenoid G; The rail or return conductor is connected with conductor 10, which extends to contact 10 of solenoid A, contact 10 of solenoid F, and contact 10 of solenoid G.

The overload-solenoid O has a coarse winding 0 which is connected in series with the working circuit through the motors and has a fine winding'o whichis connected to the trolley-wire and contact 0' of solenoid A. The end of solenoidA is connected directly with the trolley wire, while the ends of the remaining solenoids are connected by conductor 20 through contacts 040 0", controlled by the overload-magnet O, the contact 0 being carried upon the core of the solenoid and being moved out of engagement with the contacts 0 0 when the solenoid or magnet is energized, thereby opening the circuit through the solenoids B to G. The solenoids carry contact-plates, which serve to bridge together the pairs of contacts when the solenoids are energized to thereby elevate the cores. The

. connects the armatures in parallel.

seer Avastaete cost comes? cores of solenoids B and G are connected to gether by means of an arm b, pivoted at 19 whereby when one of the cores is elevated the other will be depressed. The cores of solenoids D and E are likewise connected together, as are also the cores of solenoids F and G.

The following table gives the connections made by the several solenoids when energized, the numerals indicating the conductors, which are electrically united when the solenoids are energized: 1

Table of Connections Made by Solenoids.

A connects 1 with 2 and fine-winding solenconductors-2 and 4 and 3 and 5connects the motor-fields in parallel. Solenoid D connects the motor-armatures in series.

Solenoid F connects the fields with the armatu res and connects the armatures with the rail. Solenoid G accomplishes the same result as solennoid F, except that the armatures are connected in circuit in reversed direction.

The following table of the uses of the'solenoids will facilitate the reading of the drawingsz 1 Uses of the Solenoids.

A shortcircuits starting resistance and Solenoid E IIQ D connects the motor-'armatures in series.

'5, the horizontal lines indicate the position of the brushes necessary for securing the operation indicated upon the left., Thus in the position 1 I the vehicle is at rest and the brushes are in the 0d position. In the position 2 2 the brushes are in position for very slow movement, and in this position solenoids F, D, and B are energized, as indicated in the drawings. In the position 3 3 for slow speed the solenoids F, D, B, and A are energized. In the position at 4 for medium speed the solenoids F, D, G, and A are energized. In the position 5 5 for fast speed the solenoids F, E, C, and Aare energized. In the BEST AVAiLABLE COPE position 6 6'for back speed thesolenoids G, D, &

andB areenergized. The solenoids energized by the operation'of the rear controller 1." are likewise shown at the left of said controller.-

Supposing the vehicle to be at rest and-the brushes in the oflf'position l 1 and it be dev sized to move the vehicle'forward, the controller is 'movedto bring the brushes in the starting resistanceis thus shortcir'cuited. Inmov ing the 'controller'to'the position at 4 the brushesf, d, and bpass out ofieng'ag'ement with the contact-surfaces .of'the roller, and the solenoids are "thus 'de'energi'zed, permitting the cores to fall." In the position 4 e'the brushes f, (1,0, and dare incircu'itQIthereby energizing the corresponding solenoids, and 'thelfields of the motor are con'nected'in parallel, while the armatures remain in series. In the position 5 {5' brushes f, 'e, c, and a. are in circuit, thereby energizing the correspon ding solenoidsand connecting the armatures of the'motors also in parallel. When the brusheslare moved to the'position 6 6, brushes 7 g, d, and b are'con'nected incircuit, thereby energizingthe corresponding solenoids and connecting the motors injseries, with the armatures in reversed position, whereby the vehicle is propelled backward. 'As the solenoids of the pairs B C, D'E,- and F G perform opposite functions and as both solenoids of the pairshould not be energized at one time, the linking of the cores of the solenoids together by the pivoted levers insures the operation of but one solenoid of each pair at a time. When the circuit is closed through any one of the'solenoids, the current traverses the main winding thereof, which is of comparativelylow resistance, whereby sufficient current flows to attract and raise'the core. The'upwa-rd movement of the core serves to open the short circuit around the auxiliarywinding, thereby connecting said winding in circuit and increasing the resistance'ofthe solenoid-winding sufficiently to cut down the current flowing to a strength suific'ient 'to maintain the core in its elevated position, When an abnormal current flows through" the motor-circuits, the coarse windings o of the overload-magnet O are energized,

' thereby raising thecontact o 'as the core is attracted, thus opening the circuit through oidA is not in circuit with the contacts 0 0 0 the solenoids B and G; 'The fine-wire winding remains in circuit and is traversed by suflicient current to maintain the'core of solenoidO in an elevated position. The solenso that when an abnormal current flows the fine-wire winding remains in circuit.

In Figs. 2 and 3 I have illustrated the preferred-form of mechanical arrangement for the controller-roller, the contact-plated being mounted upon a drum or roller which ispro- 'vided with a handle if, adapted to be rotated into'the various positions 'to movethe contact-plate relatively to the row of brushes, the diiferent positions of the handle for the va- 'rious speeds being indicated- A'stopc' -is carried upon a lever ifl-pivoted at i the lever being pressed upward by means of a spring 2' The'stop 2' extends upward sufficiently to limit the-movement of-the arm '6 so that the arm normally cannot be moved beyond the oif position. When it is desired to back the vehicle, the lever i is depressed, thereby lowering the stop i so that the arm 2' can be moved past the stop to the back position. A permanent stop 17 limits the further movement of the handle 2' 1 1 In Fig. 4 I have illustrated a further development of-my invention in which, inaddition to the solenoids A to G, a solenoid H is provided. In this figure Ihave illustrated, in addition to the series .field-coils m p,

shunt field-coils m and f, these coils being connected together in series and joined at one end to the trolley-wire and at the other end to a conductor 18,.which extends tocontacts 18 provided in connection with solenoid'B.

An additional contact 10 is provided in connection with solenoid B and is connected with conductor 10'. I have illustrated a non-inductive resistance "n in parallel with .the shunt field-coils m p for the purpose of affording a path for the inductive su'rgewhen.

the shunt-coils are removed from circuit. A resistance 77. is connected at one end with conductor 6 and at the other end with-a conductor 16, which extends to contact 1650f ICC) solenoid H. The contact 9 of solenoid H is con--- nected with conductor 9. The solenoid His provided with main and auxiliary. coilsin like manner as the other solenoids, the short circuit about the auxiliary coil being opened when the solenoid is energized. The end of the solenoid-winding is connected with brushes h h, adapted to engage the contact-plates'i and 2" when the 'brushes occupy the position 7 7 or the position 8 8. hen the brushes are in either of these positions, the said sole'noid is energized. j The operation of the system as above described and asillustrated in Fig.4 is as follows:

When the brushes are in the OE position 1'1,the

circuits are open and the vehicle is at rest.

When it is desired to move the vehicle forward, the brushes may be moved to the positions 2 2 3 3, 850., to cause the vehicle to t-ravel at any desired speed, and the circuits closed in the various positions are the same as described in connection with Fig.v 1. WVhen solenoid-- B, however, is energized, the shuntrfieldsm and'p are included in circuit. Thuswhen the brushes are in the very-slow position the'solenoid Bis energized and the shunt-.

fields are in. circuit, thereby adding.-the strength of the shunt-fields to that of the series fields. Likewise in the slow position the shunt-fields'are in circuit. In the medium and fast positions the shunt-fields are removed from circuit. When it is desired to stop the vehicle, the dynamic brake is applied by moving the brushes to the posiarmatures being in parallel with each other.

v results.

"and out of the path of the stops 6? e The armatures being thus rotated in a magnetic field while closed upon themselves serve as a dynamic brake to checkthe movement of the vehicle. .When thebrushes are moved to the .iull-stop position 7 7, the solenoid E is denergizedand the solenoid D is energized, thereby connecting armatu res m and p in series'with each other instead of parallel, 25

the connections remaining otherwise the same, and an increased dynamic action thus In the back position the circuit arrangements are the same as described in connectionwith Fig.1, except that the shunt field coils m and p are included in circuit.

In Figs. 5 and fi. I have illustrated a modified form of the controller in which the handle e, by means ofwhich the drum is rotated, carries a pivoted lever, the arm 2' of which is in position to be readily grasped by the hand to rock the lever and move the arm 6 upward The stop 6 is in position to normally prevent the movement of the handle 6 beyond the olf position. handle to stop the vehicle, the closing of the hand upon the handle serves to raise the arm c out of the path of the stop a to permit the movement of the handle e to the full-stop position. When it is desired to back the vehicle, the arm e may be likewise raised to permit the handle e to pass the stop a.

In Fig. 7 I have illustrated diagrammatically a number of cars coupled together in ac cordance with my invention. A set of solenoids A to K, inclusive, is illustrated upon each car, the solenoids being connected with the contacts of the controllers by means of conductors which extend throughout the length of the train.

By the term solenoid as employed in the appended claims I contemplate any form of electromagnetic motive device.

Having described. my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is v 1. In a controller for electric motors, the combination with the fields and the armatures of a pair of electric motors, of contacts arranged to connect the fields either in series or in parallel relation, contacts ar- When it is desired to-move the.

' BEST AVAlLABLE COPE ranged to connect the armatures either in series or in parallel relation independently of said fields, a plurality of solenoids for controlling circuit through the several contacts,

and a switching device for actuating the solenoids for controlling said contacts. and a' switching device for connecting the several solenoids in circuitas desired, substantially as described. j-

3. In a controller, the combination with a plurality of contacts, of a plurality of solenoids for controlling circuit therethrough, one

end of each solenoid being connected with one side of the supply-circuit, a series of brushes one connected with the opposite end of each solenoid, and a contact-plate connected with the opposite side of the supply-circuit and having raised contact-surfaces arranged to engage the respective brushes to close circuit through the several solenoids,

substantially as described.

4. In a controller, the combination with the several elements of the' source of power-supply to be connected in varying relations, of

contacts connected therewith, a plurality'of solenoids for controlling the circuits through the several contacts, said solenoids being provided with main and auxiliary windings, and a shunt-circuit normally provided around the auxiliary winding and adapted to be opened when the core is attracted to thereby connect the auxiliary winding in circuit,substantially as described.

5. In a controller, the combination with the several elements of the source of power-supply to be connected in varying relations, of contacts connected therewith, a plurality of solenoids for controlling the circuits through the several contacts,and an overload-solenoid for controlling the circuits through thesolenoids, substantially as described.

6. In a controller, the combination with the several elements to be connected in varying relations, of contacts connected therewith, a plurality of solenoids for controlling the circuits through the several contacts, and an overload-solenoid for controlling the circuits through the solenoids, said overload solenoid being provided with a series winding and a shunt-winding, and a solenoid for controlling the circuit through said shunt-winding, substantially as described.

7. In a controller for electric motors, the combination with a pair of electric motors, of a solenoid for connecting the fields thereof in parallel, a solenoid for connecting said fields in series, a switching apparatus for closing circuit through the solenoids, and separate means for varying the circuit connection of the armatures of said motors, substantially as described. V

8. In a controller for electric motors, the

' combination with a pair of electric motors, of

- oid for connecting the armatures thereof in series, a solenoid for connecting the armatures in parallel,switchin gapparatus for closing circuit through said solenoids, and separate means for varying the circuit connections of the fields of said motors, substantially as described. 7

'10. In a controller for electric motors, the. combination with a pair of motors of a solenoid for connecting the armatures thereof in series, asolenoid for connecting the armatures in parallel, a connection between the cores of said solenoidswhereby but one of said cores can be attracted at a time, and switching apparatus for closing circuit through the solenoids, substantially asdescribed.

11. In a controller for electric motors the combination with a pair of electric motors, of a solenoid for connecting the armatures thereof in circuit in one direction, a solenoid for connecting the said armatures in the reversed direction, switching apparatus for closing circuits through the solenoids, and separate means for varying the circuit arrangement of the fields of said motors, substantially as described;

12. In a controller for electric motors, the combination with a pair of electric motors, of a solenoid for connecting the fields thereof in circuit in series, a solenoid for connecting said fields in parallel, switching apparatus for closing circuit throughthe solenoids, and separate means for varying the circuit ar- BEST AVAiLABLE CQP;

rangement of the armatures of said motors, substantially as described.

13. In a controller for electric motors, the combination with a pair of electric motors, ot' a solenoid for connecting the fields thereof in parallel, a solenoid for connecting the fields thereof in series, a solenoid for connecting the armatures thereof in parallel, a solenoid for connecting the armatures thereof in series, and switching apparatus for closing circuit through the several solenoids, substantially as. described. v

14. In a controller for electric motors, the

: combination with a pair of electric motors, of

a solenoid for connecting the fields thereof in parallel, a solenoid for connecting the fields thereof in series, a solenoid for connecting the armatures in circuit in one direction, a

solenoid for connecting the armatures in ClIT,

cuit in the opposite direction, and switching apparatus for closing circuit through said several solenoids, substantially as described.

15. In a controller for electric motors, the combination with a pair of electric motors, of

a solenoid for connecting the armatures thereof in. series, a solenoid for connecting said armatures in parallel, a resistance, a solenoid for connecting said resistance in-closed circuit with said armature, and switching apparatus for closing circuit through said several solenoids, substantially as described.

16. In a controller for electric motors, the combinationwith a pair of electric motors having shunt-fields, of a solenoid for controlling the circuit through said shunt-fields, a solenoid for connecting the armatures in series, a solenoid for connecting the armatures in parallel, a resistance, a solenoid for connecting said resistance'in a closedcircuit with the armature, and switching apparatus for closing circuit through the several solenoids, substantially as described.

In Witness whereof I have hereunto-subscribed my name in the presence of two witnesses.

HENRY 1-1. CUTLER.

\Vitnesses:

W. CLYDnJoNEs, M. R. Rocrnronn. 

